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Life Interrupted

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the irq7 dept.

sch7572 writes "Seattle Times carried this story which may be of interest to those addicted to checking Slashdot for new stories every minute. Scientists are concerned that the Information Age is nurturing 'cognitive overload,' an umbrella term for the malaise people feel as a result of distraction, stress, multitasking, and data congestion related to increasingly sophisticated technologies. People multitask because it is expected, encouraged, and considered vital, yet cognitive scientist David Meyer reports that truly effective multitasking is beyond people's capabilities."

12 of 406 comments (clear)

  1. Arrrrrgggg! by dreamchaser · · Score: 5, Funny

    Can't...handle...another...story...about how modern society and technology is stressing us out...too much stress...ughhh...must wrap head in duct tape before it explodes...

    1. Re:Arrrrrgggg! by networkBoy · · Score: 5, Insightful

      According to the article we should focus on only one task at a time and not switch between tasks.

      This leaves me with two /.ish things to say:
      1) I will then focus all my attention on this thread until such time as I deem the task complete
      or
      2) As I focus myself on this threa . . . Oh look a new thingy to work on!

      This leads me to wonder if ADD / ADHD are actually coping mechanisms of the human mind? It kind of makes sense, as our brains are programmed for task switching at an early age with most kids being babysat by the TV and commercials being 30 seconds in length. Anybody know how long the feature program is between commercial breaks? 12 minutes perhaps?
      -nB

      --
      whois gawk date unzip strip find touch finger mount join nice man top fsck grep eject more yes exit umount sleep dump
  2. First Post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm NOT checking every minute, just discovered this site.

    1. Re:First Post by dcrocha · · Score: 5, Funny

      Neither am I. I wrote a program that parses the page and sends the new stories to my mobile phone, where the message is instructed to interrupt anything i'm doing at the moment in the phone, like playing Snake or talking to my mom. This program also prints a copy of the story so I can read it at home in bedtime.

  3. The article... by bje2 · · Score: 5, Funny

    i tried to RTFA, but between my e-mail, the internet radio i'm listening to, ESPN.com, and my actual work, I didn't have enough concentration...

    --

    "Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true." - Homer Simpson
  4. data congestion by SpongeBobLinuxPants · · Score: 5, Funny

    I don't see this as a problem. I can remember all the IP numbers of our servers and almost everyone's password... dammit I forgot to wear pants again to work.

    --
    hack a day
  5. No To Interruptions by Nurgled · · Score: 5, Interesting

    For a while now I've been anti-interruption. I shun any kind of unsolicited alert about events such as new email arriving, a friend signing on to an IM network or the phone ringing. I find I enjoy activities a lot more now that I can see them through to completion without beeping and flashing alerts interrupting me at arbitrary moments.

  6. Its true.... I've experienced it. by jhines0042 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I spent some time working in the support department for one of my previous companies. After a full day of answering phones, answering questions, problem solving, and tracking things down, I would come home and be absolutely exhausted. All of the constant context switching was very bad for my mental health. Sure, I was able to do the job, but it totally numbed my brain out and made me a tired, frustrated person.

    Now as a software engineer I try to work on only one thing at a time. If I try to do more than that then all of my efforts fall behind. If I can focus on one task though, it gets done and done right.

    --
    42 - So long and thanks for all the fish.
  7. Note he said effective multitasking by Saven+Marek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    People multitask because it is expected, encouraged, and considered vital, yet cognitive scientist David Meyer reports that truly effective multitasking is beyond people's capabilities."

    I suspect this is where the problem lies. The difference between "effective multitasking" and "bumming on the internet" is the crucial point. Both are attempting jumping from one task to another, the first for a pupose say doing your job. The second doesnt have a purpose or a structure so it has no more purpose than doing it itself.

    It is almost as if you are addicted to performing a task (browsing the internet) and the performing of the task becomes the goal, instead of working towards, something at the end.

    Net Online Anime Gallery's

  8. I don't see how this applies to Slashdot readers by Mr.+Cancelled · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It's not like we read the stories...

    Just look at the comments people leave. It's pretty obvious that the average Slashdotters attention span is about that of a -Oh look a bunny!

  9. Re:It's called Evolution by killmenow · · Score: 5, Insightful
    They start chatting at the watercooler, and soon after are dating, get married, and have multitasking children, and so on.
    Which leads to this.
  10. My ADD son told me this joke... by rah1420 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ... which was published in the October Readers' Digest.

    Q: "How many ADD kids does it take to change a lightbulb?"

    A: "Let's go ride bikes."

    --
    Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.